Holton-le-Clay Junior School

Age group 7–11 Inspection date(s) 10–11 May 2012 Inspection number 380043 Holton-le-Clay Junior School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 120497 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 380043 Inspection dates 10–11 May 2012 Lead inspector Glynn Storer

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Junior School category Community Age range of pupils 7–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 147 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jim Allen Headteacher Carole Craven Date of previous school inspection 11 February 2009 School address Picksley Crescent Holton-le-Clay Grimsby DN36 5DR Telephone number 01472 826432 Fax number Email address enquiries@holton-le-clay-junior.lincs.sch.uk achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked

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after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, pl ease telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any wa y. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. The inspector observed eight lessons or parts of lessons and one assembly. In total, six members of staff were observed teaching. The inspector looked at pupils’ work and listened to pupils read. He talked to pupils and to parents and carers and held meetings with staff and governors. The inspector observed the school’s work, and looked at documentation including development plans, information on pupils’ attainment, progress and attendance, monitoring reports and safeguarding records. He analysed questionnaire responses from 112 parents and carers, 137 pupils and 20 staff.

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Information about the school

The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school. Almost all of the pupils are White British. Very few pupils are from minority ethnic groups or speak English as an additional language. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below average. The number of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is above average for a school of this size: some have complex difficulties and medical needs. The school meets the current floor standards, which are the minimum standards expected by the government.

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Information about the school

Since its last inspection, the school has entered into federation arrangements with the neighbouring infant school. An executive headteacher and a single governing body oversee the work of both schools.

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Information about the school

The school has gained a range of awards in recognition of aspects of its work. These include: Artsmark (gold); Eco School (silver); Healthy School and Creative Enquiry School status; Sportsmark and Investors in People. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 This is a good school. Outcomes for pupils have been better than those in similar schools nationally for most of the last 10 years and continue to improve as this school and its federation partner infant school go from strength to strength. This is not an outstanding school because inconsistencies in teaching and gaps in provision for information and communication technology (ICT) continue to affect pupils’ learning and progress in some lessons.

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Key findings

 Pupils of all ages, abilities and backgrounds, including those who are disabled or have special educational needs, and those who are known to be eligible for free school meals, achieve well because teaching is effective. Standards are above average because almost all pupils make, and many exceed, the expected amount of progress from their starting points.

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Key findings

 Teaching is regularly good and, at times outstanding. Pupils benefit from lively, engaging lessons that really make them think. Nevertheless, inconsistencies in teachers’ marking, day-to-day assessments and use of objectives and targets occasionally slow pupils’ progress in some lessons.

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Key findings

 Pupils’ outstanding behaviour and their strong relationships with others give rise to the exceptionally safe and harmonious atmosphere that pervades the school. By the time that they leave the school, almost all pupils strive to succeed and readily rise to the challenge of tasks that make significant demands on them. This excellent approach to learning is a key factor that contributes to the good progress that they make.

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Key findings

 The effective management of teaching in all phases across the federation is responsible for improvements in school outcomes. The executive headteacher’s highly effective leadership and her robust management of staff performance maintain the impetus of improvement. The governing body supports the school effectively but, as yet, too few governors are involved in the rigorous first-hand monitoring of the school’s work. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 By July 2013, increase the proportion of outstanding teaching by:  ensuring that teachers use on-going assessments more consistently to fine-tune learning to meet the needs of all pupils  strengthening the focus on objectives for individuals and groups in all lessons, so that pupils always know what is expected of them  extending good practice in marking and guidance from English to other subjects.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 By September 2013, strengthen the leadership and management of teaching and learning by:  refreshing resources and provision for ICT, and ensuring that the use of ICT supports pupils’ learning across the whole curriculum  giving more governors a role in the first-hand monitoring of the school’s performance.

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Achievement of pupils

Parents and carers are virtually unanimous in the view that their children are making good progress. Their view is consistent with inspection findings.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils typically enter the school attaining standards that are average, although many of the current Year 6 cohort had below average attainment on entry to Year 3. The results of national tests show that pupils have regularly attained above average standards, although a dip in 2011 saw overall standards drop to average and standards in English fall below the national average. The school has taken prompt and effective action to reverse this decline. Standards in reading, writing and mathematics are currently above average at the end of Key Stage 2. The impact of improved teaching, assessment and tracking of pupils’ progress is now clearly evident in pupils’ good achievement. Almost all pupils, not only in the current Year 6 but throughout school, have made good progress, especially over the last 24 months, and for some, progress has been outstanding. The proportion of above average National Curriculum Level 5 scores – an area for improvement arising from the 2011

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Achievement of pupils

national tests – has improved strongly. Teaching in all Key Stage 2 classes makes significant demands on pupils. Teachers’ expectations are consistently high. They routinely require pupils to solve complex problems and persevere in the face of difficulties, and because a strong work ethic prevails, pupils rise to this challenge and learn at a good or better rate.

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Achievement of pupils

Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make similar progress to other pupils. Staff who support them have in-depth understanding of the difficulties Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Achievement of pupils

that individuals face. They are unstinting in the care they provide and in challenging them to achieve at every opportunity. Consequently, the standards that these pupils attain by the time that they leave the school are typically higher than those attained by similar pupils nationally, and their progress is greater.

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Quality of teaching

Pupils make good progress because most teaching is effective. The teaching team is still working to achieve consistency in all areas but, at its best, teaching is outstanding. As such, it has an extremely positive impact on pupils’ learning and on the development of good practice throughout the school. Inspection findings confirm parents’, carers’ and pupils’ belief that teaching is good.

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Quality of teaching

In the best lessons, teaching is lively and engaging but also makes considerable intellectual demands on the pupils. Expectations are high and an excellent balance of support and challenge inspires pupils to succeed. For example, in an exceptionally successful art lesson, the teacher’s excellent knowledge and understanding of the work of the artist Modigliani and her ability to demonstrate associated techniques, dispelled pupils’ anxieties. The teaching inspired confidence and promoted a will to succeed, which together resulted in finished art work of a standard that was well above age-related expectations. The effective use of assessment to support learning is a strong feature of many lessons. However, when teaching is less successful, pupils are unsure about what is expected of them, because teachers do not give enough emphasis to the setting of objectives for individuals or groups. Sometimes, progress is therefore inhibited. This occurs when teachers’ on-going assessments do

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Quality of teaching

not identify quickly enough where pupils need additional help or could be moved on to more challenging tasks. There is good practice in the marking of pupils’ work in English. Constructive comments and clear guidance help pupils to improve. This good practice does not always extend to other subjects.

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Quality of teaching

Teachers’ planning is effective. The teaching of disabled pupils and of those with special educational needs is good because planning for these pupils is thorough and inclusive. As a result, work is suitably challenging and they have access to, and benefit fully from, all that the school has to offer. The school works closely with parents and carers to ensure continuity of support for them. Parents and carers endorse this judgement saying, for example: ‘The school goes over and above the call of duty to ensure that each individual child’s needs are met and celebrated.’ By building topics around pupils’ needs and interests, teachers motivate pupils effectively and foster exceptionally positive attitudes to learning. Planning ensures that all topics contribute to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development because teachers understand the need to broaden pupils’ horizons and expand their

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Quality of teaching

thinking and experiences in these areas.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

All parents and carers who returned a questionnaire agreed that their children feel safe in school. A very large majority also agreed that lessons are not disrupted by Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

poor behaviour and that the school deals effectively with any bullying that occurs. Pupils express similar views. They have a good understanding of different forms of bullying and know how to combat them. Inspection findings are consistent with the views of parents, carers and pupils. Pupils’ behaviour in and around the school is excellent. They enjoy strong relationships with one another, with older pupils showing great care and consideration for younger friends. Pupils’ play is lively and energetic but there is no evidence of play that could cause harm or upset to others.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

By the time pupils leave the school, most have developed highly positive attitudes to learning and to school life in general. They cooperate exceptionally well with others and are capable of high levels of independence and/or collaboration, as required by particular activities. Enjoyment of school and this strongly positive approach to learning adds significantly to pupils’ progress and is an important factor in their high rate of attendance.

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Leadership and management

At the heart of the successful drive to improve the provision and outcomes for all pupils has been the determination of the executive headteacher and governing body to build quality and consistency across the federation. In just over two years, the positive impact of this initiative is increasingly evident. New approaches to assessment and the tracking of pupils’ progress, along with ‘in-house’ examples of outstanding teaching, have underpinned improvements in teaching and achievement across the school. The management of provision for disabled pupils and those with special education needs embody rigorous approaches to promoting equality and tackling discrimination. As a result, the school is an inclusive, tolerant and harmonious community. All staff have settled into their teaching and/or leadership roles effectively because induction and access to on-going professional development have promoted confidence and an ambition to ‘make a real difference’.

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Leadership and management

The leadership team has also been responsible for developing a rich curriculum. Within an established framework that ensures balanced coverage of most subjects and the systematic reinforcement of skills, especially in literacy and numeracy. Pupils have a real say in the detail of what they want to learn. This, along with frequent, carefully linked special events and educational visits, ensures high levels of interest and engagement that bring out the best in most pupils. A strength of the curriculum is the extent to which it promotes spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. There is a strong focus on the expressive and performing arts and developing pupils’ personal qualities. This, along with topics that enable pupils to understand global issues; gain insights into the religious and cultural diversity of modern Britain, or to participate in local community events, strengthens these areas of pupils’

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Leadership and management

development. The school’s many and varied nationally accredited awards bear witness to the quality of many aspects of the curriculum.

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Leadership and management

One area of weakness remains in current curriculum provision. Resources, approaches to the teaching and pupils’ use of ICT do not give pupils enough access to computers or other devices that could support and enhance learning across the Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Leadership and management

curriculum as a whole. The school has identified these shortcomings in its self- evaluation, but action to bring about improvement has not yet begun.

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Leadership and management

The governing body is conscientious in overseeing the school’s work and in ensuring that safeguarding arrangements meet current requirements. Some members of the governing body are both rigorous and independent in their monitoring. This gives them authority when they challenge the school about what it achieves, or about progress towards identified targets. However, too few governors monitor in this first- hand way to give the governing body a real voice in school self-evaluation. Nevertheless, the school’s record of improvement since its last inspection, the positive impact of federation arrangements, and strengthening governing body monitoring give the school a good capacity for sustained improvement.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 54 42 2 2 Primary schools 14 49 32 6 Secondary schools 20 39 34 7 Special schools 33 45 20 3 Pupil referral units 9 55 28 8 All schools 16 47 31 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September to 31 December 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all sc hools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance: the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour: how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Floor standards: the national minimum expectation of attainment and progression measures.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety: how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

Inspection of Holton-le-Clay Junior School , Grimsby , DN36 5DR

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

It was a delight to inspect your school. I really enjoyed talking to you. I was very impressed by your good manners and the thoughtful way you treated each other and answered my questions. It was really good to see you helping each other in lessons. Your exceptionally positive attitudes are helping you to learn effectively.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

Your school is giving you a good education. Your standards of attainment are above average and most of you make good progress. Teaching is usually good and sometimes outstanding, but there are times when it is inconsistent. I have asked school leaders to make sure that teaching is outstanding in as many lessons as possible. That way, your progress will improve further. Occasionally, the tasks that teachers set do not bring out the best in all of you, so I have asked teachers to keep a close eye on how you are all doing and to match activities to your needs more closely. Sometimes, teachers do not make the best possible use of your individual targets or make sure you know how to improve when they mark your work or talk to you about it. I have asked staff to improve these aspects of teaching.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

The leaders at your school are doing lots of things to make the school better. For example, you told me that there are lots of activities and special events that make lessons exciting. However, at present you do not get enough opportunities to use computers and other technological equipment to help you to learn even more effectively. I have suggested that improvements in this area should become a priority. Finally I have asked more members of the governing body to be involved in checking on how well you are all doing and ensuring that the school meets its improvement targets.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

You can help your school to improve further by continuing to try very hard in all your lessons and by following the advice that teachers give you.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

Lead inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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